Cam buckle assembly for use in tying down loads

ABSTRACT

A cam buckle assembly has a main body portion fabricated of a suitable resilient material such as a resilient plastic. A cam member is pivotally assembled in the main body portion and is resiliently urged towards the main body portion by a resilient arm member which extends from the main body portion and abuts against the cam member. A strap is wound around a cross arm formed in the main body portion at one end thereof, this strap being adjustable as to its effective length and once so adjusted retained in such position by means of the cam member. Means are provided at the other end of the body portion, for attaching the body portion to securing means which in one embodiment comprises a resilient hook and in another embodiment a cross bar for receiving an attachment strap.

This invention relates to buckle assemblies for use in conjunction withstraps to retain an object in a desired position and more particularlyto such a device which employs a cam member which is resiliently urgedagainst one of the straps by a resilient arm member extending from themain body of the assembly.

Various types of buckle devices have been used in the prior art forretaining tarps in place over cargo or other objects to be protectedagainst the elements. These prior art devices generally incorporate abuckle through which a strap may be reeved and adjusted as to itslength, the strap being stitched to the tarp at one end or otherwiseattached thereto. The buckle in many of these prior art devices hasattachment means connected to one end which may comprise a hook whichfits over the arm of a U-shaped anchoring bracket. Such devices of theprior art have several shortcomings. First, the hooks employed canreadily become detached from the bracket should the tension on the straploosen. This of course could result, particularly under windyconditions, in the tarp becoming detached. Also, such hooks in prior artdevices are generally a separate piece which must be attached to the endof the buckle which adds to the cost of the device. Further, many ofsuch prior art devices are overly expensive in their construction. Inaddition in some of such devices the tensioning of the strap is not aseasy to accomplish as would be desired.

The device of the present overcomes the aforementioned shortcomings ofthe prior art in providing a simple highly economical buckle devicewhich in one embodiment, while easily attachable to and removable froman anchoring bracket, nevertheless snaps onto the bracket and hasretention means thereon which resists detachment from the bracket exceptby the application of a substantial positive force. Further, the deviceof the invention employs a unique camming assembly for retaining theadjustable strap which is highly effective and of economicalconstruction.

The improvement is achieved in the present invention by employing a mainbody portion fabricated of a resilient material such as a suitableplastic. In one embodiment a hook also of such resilient material isintegral with and extends from the main body portion, there being adetent in the form of a protuberance on an inside wall of one of thearms of the hook which enables a snap fit of the hook on an anchoringbracket. Further, the adjustment strap for use in tightening the tarpover the load is wound over only a single cross arm of the hook memberand is adjustably retained in position on this cross arm by means of acam member which is pivotally supported on the main body of the hookassembly and resiliently urged against the strap by means of a resilientfinger member extending from the main body portion of the assembly. Thecam member can be pivotally urged away from the strap member by applyingfinger pressure thereto against the urging of the resilient finger tofree the strap for tensioning or loosening.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a buckle memberfor retaining a strap which is of simpler and more economicalconstruction.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a buckle assemblyfor retaining a strap to an anchoring bracket member which has anintegral hook member with means thereon for removably retaining the hookmember to the bracket member. It is still another object of thisinvention to provide a buckle assembly for retaining a strap to ananchoring bracket or the like in which the tensioning or releasing ofthe strap can more simply be achieved.

Other objects of this invention will become apparent as the descriptionproceeds in connection with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational drawing illustrating the use of a firstembodiment of the invention in retaining a tarp in position;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is cross-sectional view taken along the plane indicated by 3--3in FIG. 2;

FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view taken along the plane indicated by3A--3A in FIG. 3;

FIG. 4 is a partial side elevational view in cross-section of the firstembodiment showing the operation of the cam member,

FIG. 5 is a partial bottom plan view of the first embodiment, and

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view in cross section of a secondembodiment of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, main body portion 11 is made of aresilient material such as a suitable polycarbonate plastic. The hookmember has a pair of oppositely positioned side arms 12 and 13 which aresubstantially parallel to each other through most of their extent, theforward ends of the arms running into a hook 14. Hook 14 has oppositearms 14a and 14b, arm 14b having a ramp 14c formed on the free endthereof. Formed on the inner wall of arm 14a is a arcuate protuberance15. Cam member 16 is pivotally supported by means of pivot pins 17 and18 integrally formed therewith which extend outwardly from the oppositesides thereof and fit into mating apertures formed in arms 12 and 13respectively. Cam member 6 is snapped into position in the aperturesformed in the arms by first placing pin 17 in its associated apertureand then sliding pin 18 along slot 22 formed in arm 13 until it finallysnaps into position in its associated aperture. Cam member 16 may befabricated of metal or plastic and has a plurality of teeth 19 along oneside thereof for engagement with strap 21 which is reeved around crossarm 23 which extends between arms 12 and 13. Serrations 23a are formedalong the inner wall of cross arm 23 to aid in retaining the strap inposition between the cam member and the cross arm. Strap 21 is retainedbetween cam member 16 and cross arm 23 by virtue of the resilient actionof resilient arm 25 which extends from side arm 13 and abuts against cammember 16. A lever 26 is provided along the edge of cam member 16opposite to that on which teeth 19 are formed. A stop member 20 extendsinwardly from arm 12 and acts to limit the travel of cam member 16.Outer guide bar 31 is provided between arms 12 and 13 to facilitate theguiding and retention of the strap.

Referring now particularly to FIGS. 1 and 4 the use of the hook memberof the invention in retaining a tarp 30 in place is illustrated. Strap21 is stitched or otherwise attached to the tarp, the free end of thestrap being reeved around cross member 23 of the assembly. The strap istensioned by pulling on the free end thereof while the cam 16 is beingdepressed by means of lever 26. The strap is held in this tensionedposition be means of the cam between cam teeth 19 and the serrations 23aof arm 23. The end of the tarp has an eye hook 35 thereon which fitsover anchoring bracket 37 which is fixedly supported on a supportstructure 40. The hook 14 is snapped into position over the bar portion37a of the bracket by virtue of its resiliency and is retained in thisposition by virtue of arcuate protuberance or detent 15 formed on thehook. The hook is readily removable from the bracket but only by theapplication of positive manual pressure in a downward direction withstrap 21 in an untensioned state.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a second embodiment of the invention isillustrated. This embodiment is similar to the first embodiment exceptfor the elimination of the hook member 14 and guide bar 31 and thesubstitution of a cross bar 33 for use in attaching a strap 38 to oneend of the buckle. In this second embodiment, the strap 38 can beattached to suitable anchoring means, as may be desired. Otherwise, theoperation and construction of the buckle of the second embodiment is thesame as that of the first.

While the invention has been described and illustrated in detail, it isto be clearly understood that this is intended by way of illustrationand example only and is not to be taken of way of limitation, the spiritand scope of the invention being limited only by the terms of thefollowing claims.

I claim:
 1. A buckle assembly for retaining a strap, for use in tyingdown a load to a support bar or the like comprising:a resilient mainbody portion; a cam member; means for pivotally supporting the cammember on the main body portion, means on said main body portion forsupporting the strap, the strap being retained on said main body portionbetween said last mentioned main body means and said cam member, meansextending from said main body portion for resiliently urging the cammember towards said main body portion means to clamp the strap betweenthe cam member and the main body portion, and a resilient hook extendingfrom the main body portion, said hook having opposing broad surfacedarms, one of said arms having a detent in the shape of an arcuateprotuberance formed on the side thereof facing the other of said arms,said hook being snap fitted on said support bar with the detentoperating to retain said hook on said bar.
 2. The assembly of claim 1wherein said means for supporting the strap comprises a cross arm onsaid main body portion around which the strap is reeved, the cross armhaving serrations formed thereon and the cam member having teeth formedthereon for aiding the retention of the strap.
 3. The assembly of claim1 wherein the means for resiliently urging the cam member comprises aresilient arm extending from the main body portion and abutting againstthe cam member.
 4. The assembly of claim 3 and further including stopmeans extending from the main body portion for limiting the travel ofthe cam member.
 5. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the main body portioncomprises a pair of opposite side arms between which the cam member ispivotally supported.
 6. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the main bodyportion is integrally formed with said hook of a resilient plasticmaterial.
 7. The assembly of claim 5 wherein the means for pivotallysupporting the cam member comprises a pair of pivot pins extendingoutwardly from the opposite sides of said cam member, a pair of matingapertures for said pivot pins being formed in said side arms, a slotbeing formed in at least one of said side arms adjacement to theassociated aperture, an associated one of said pins being slided alongsaid slot to snap into place in said associated aperture.
 8. Theassembly of claim 5 and further including a guide bar extending betweensaid side arms to facilitate the guiding and clamping of the strap.
 9. Abuckle assembly for retaining a strap, for use in tying down a loadcomprising:a resilient main body portion having a pair of oppositelypositioned spaced apart side arms; a cam member, means for pivotallysupporting the cam member on the main body portion between the side armsthereof; means on said main body portion for supporting the strap, thestrap being retained on said main body portion between said lastmentioned main body portion means and said cam member; resilient armsmeans extending laterally from one of the side arms of said main bodyportion alongside and abutting against the cam member for resilientlyurging the cam member towards said main body portion means to clamp thestrap between the cam member and the main body portion.
 10. The assemblyof claim 9 wherein said means for supporting the strap comprises a crossarm on said main body portion around which the strap is reeved, thecross arm having serrations formed thereon and the cam member havingteeth formed thereon for aiding the retention of the strap.
 11. Theassembly of claim 9 and further including stop means extending from themain body portion for limiting the travel of the cam member.
 12. Theassembly of claim 9 wherein the main body portion comprises a pair ofopposite side arms between which the cam member is pivotally supported.13. The assembly of claim 12 wherein the means for pivotally supportingthe cam member comprises a pair of pivot pins extending outwardly fromthe opposite sides of said cam member, a pair of mating apertures forsaid pivot pins being formed in said side arms, a slot being formed inat least one of said side arms adjacement to the associated aperture, anassociated one of said pins being slided along said slot to snap intoplace in said associated aperture.
 14. The assembly of claim 12 andfurther including a guide bar extending between said side arms tofacilitate the guiding and clamping of the strap.